A local activist issued a protective shield to protesters and was indicted by a federal grand jury last month during a demonstration against the chaotic immigration attacks by the Trump administration.
Court records show Alejandro Orellana, 29, a member of the Boyle Heights-based community organization, faces allegations of conspiracy and assistance and teaching triver disease.
According to the indictment, Orellana and at least two others were riding a pickup truck in downtown Los Angeles during a June 9 protest near the federal building on Los Angeles Street.
Prosecutors alleged that Orellana is helping protesters with deadly ammunition deployed by Los Angeles police and deployed a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies after an unlawful assembly was declared.
Orellana will be in court Thursday morning. There was no immediate email to his federal public defender.
We atty. Former California lawmaker Bill Essayli, appointed by President Trump, promised to actively prosecute anyone who interferes in immigration and customs enforcement actions or harm police during the protests. Federal prosecutors filed at least 14 cases related to last month’s demonstrations, and Essayli promised to collect more people.
Asked about the crime of issuing defensive equipment at a press conference last month, Eseyli insisted that Orellana had distributed supplies specifically to violent protesters.
“He wasn’t wearing a mask on the beach. … They covered their faces. They were wearing backpacks. These weren’t peaceful protesters,” he said. “They didn’t show up with political messages. They came to do violence.”
Essayli described anyone who stayed in the protest scene after the illegal convention was declared “rioters” and said peaceful protesters “do not need a face mask.”
Orellana, who works for the United Parcel Service, has no criminal record and has previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps, according to Centro CSO member Carlos Montes.
Montes said he believes Essayli targets pro-immigration activism specifically for Centro CSOs, noting that last week FBI agents caught another member’s phone last week as part of their investigation into Orellana.
“It’s ridiculous allegations. We’re asking them to give up the allegations now. They’re insignificant, ridiculous,” Montes said. “The most important thing is that he’s spreading personal protective equipment, which includes water tanks, hand sanitizer and snacks.”
A U.S. Marine Corps spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for the Orellana service record.
Montes also challenged Essayli’s argument that peaceful protesters do not need protective equipment, pointing to the myriad situations in recent years that Los Angeles police and county sheriff’s representatives have seriously hurt people.
An investigation last month highlighted the incidents by protesters accusing Los Angeles Police Department police of fired rubber bullets and other crowd-controlled ammunition without warning in recent weeks, resulting in protesters and members of the media suffering from skeletal fractures, concussions and other forms of serious injuries.
era sTaff wRiter Brittny Mejia contributed to the report.
